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Visit a Ghost Village at the Foot of an Angry Indonesian Volcano

The abandoned town of Gamber, Indonesia, just 2.5-miles from the stratovolcano Mount Sinabung.

Albert Damanik / Getty Images

Indonesia's Mount Sinabung erupted last weekend, coughing up a 22,000-foot plume of ash that clouded the sky for days. It was yet another in a series of eruptions that has emptied surrounding villages like Gamber, where Albert Damanik snapped this eerie photo.

Ten of thousands have fled communities around Mount Sinabung since 2010, when the volcano awoke from a 400-year slumber. The 8,000-foot stratovolcano erupted again three years later, and today it is among the most active of Indonesia's 130 volcanoes. Its constant activity has killed dozens of people, displaced 30,000 others, and caused over $100 million in damage. Everything within 2.5 miles is off-limits, a precaution that left “ghost villages” dotting the Sumatran countryside.

But not everyone has left. Many villages sit just outside the danger line, keeping a watchful eye on Sinabung. "It's a mountain to look out for, not to be feared," says Damanik. Nevertheless, his apocalyptic image captures the unsettling experience of living in the shadow of an active volcano.